A Short History of US Presidential Legal Problems
2023-04-04
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1Former American President Donald Trump is expected to appear Tuesday before a New York State judge to answer his indictment.
2A grand jury voted last week to indict, or charge, Trump with a crime or crimes.
3The vote came after the grand jury heard evidence related to payments made to adult movie actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
4Trump also faces other legal problems after he launched a third campaign for the presidency.
5The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the treatment of top-secret government documents when Trump left the White House in 2021.
6Federal investigators are also looking into Trump's possible responsibility in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
7In the southern state of Georgia, the Fulton County District Attorney's office has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally interfered in the 2020 election.
8However, Trump is not the first U.S. president, in or out of office, to have faced legal trouble.
9Several others have in U.S. history.
10During his presidency, Trump was impeached two times.
11The first time was over his dealings with Ukraine.
12The second time was over actions that led to the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol.
13But the dishonor of being the first impeached president belongs to Andrew Johnson in 1868.
14During the years immediately following the Civil War, President Andrew Johnson clashed repeatedly with the Republican-controlled Congress over the reconstruction of the defeated South.
15Johnson was a member of the Democratic Party.
16The House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson, but the Senate did not have the two-thirds majority required to remove Johnson from office.
17In 1998, Bill Clinton became the second American president to be impeached for lying under oath and obstructing an investigation related to his sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, a White House aide.
18The investigation grew out of unrelated scandals from before Clinton's time in the White House.
19They were a land deal in Arkansas known as Whitewater and a sexual harassment case brought by Paula Jones.
20Clinton's law license in his native state of Arkansas was suspended for five years after he reached a deal at the end of his second term in office.
21In 1974, former President Richard Nixon might have avoided criminal charges related to the Watergate scandal when then-President Gerald Ford pardoned him just weeks after Nixon resigned.
22Nixon resigned following the discovery of recordings showing that he had ordered a cover-up of the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington.
23By 1974, the Watergate scandal had expanded beyond the break-in.
24Many of Nixon's top aides stepped down and some were sentenced to prison.
25Nixon himself was a possible target of the Watergate special counsel, a special investigator appointed by the government.
26Ford said that an "indictment, a trial, a conviction, [of Nixon]" would have distracted the country from more immediate problems.
27John A. Farrell wrote Richard Nixon: The Life, a prize-winning book published in 2017.
28He said, "There were partisans in Congress and on the special counsel's staff who would have liked to see Nixon indicted after the resignation - or at least believed that the pardon was premature."
29Farrell noted that Nixon was so worried about his legal trouble that it affected his health.
30He added, "His very worried family reached out to the White House, alerting Ford's aides of the ex-president's deteriorating condition."
31Some historians wonder about President Warren Harding's fate had he not died in office, in 1923.
32 "The walls were closing in on him," presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said of Harding.
33Several officials around him were charged with crimes related to corrupt land dealings known as the Teapot Dome Scandal.
34His Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall was the first Cabinet officer convicted and sent to prison for accepting illegal payments.
35Nixon and Harding faced major scandals without being charged.
36Ulysses Grant was a general and hero of the American Civil War.
37But members of his presidential administration were involved in many different kinds of financial wrongdoing.
38Grant himself was caught for minor offenses.
39In 1872, during his first term, he was stopped twice for riding his horse carriage too fast.
40"The second time Grant had to pay a $20 fine, but never spent a night in jail," says historian Ron Chernow.
41His book about Grant's life was published in 2017.
42I'm Dorothy Gundy.
1Former American President Donald Trump is expected to appear Tuesday before a New York State judge to answer his indictment. 2A grand jury voted last week to indict, or charge, Trump with a crime or crimes. The vote came after the grand jury heard evidence related to payments made to adult movie actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. 3Trump also faces other legal problems after he launched a third campaign for the presidency. 4The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the treatment of top-secret government documents when Trump left the White House in 2021. Federal investigators are also looking into Trump's possible responsibility in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021. 5In the southern state of Georgia, the Fulton County District Attorney's office has been investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally interfered in the 2020 election. 6However, Trump is not the first U.S. president, in or out of office, to have faced legal trouble. Several others have in U.S. history. 7Andrew Johnson 8During his presidency, Trump was impeached two times. The first time was over his dealings with Ukraine. The second time was over actions that led to the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol. 9But the dishonor of being the first impeached president belongs to Andrew Johnson in 1868. 10During the years immediately following the Civil War, President Andrew Johnson clashed repeatedly with the Republican-controlled Congress over the reconstruction of the defeated South. Johnson was a member of the Democratic Party. 11The House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson, but the Senate did not have the two-thirds majority required to remove Johnson from office. 12Bill Clinton 13In 1998, Bill Clinton became the second American president to be impeached for lying under oath and obstructing an investigation related to his sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, a White House aide. 14The investigation grew out of unrelated scandals from before Clinton's time in the White House. They were a land deal in Arkansas known as Whitewater and a sexual harassment case brought by Paula Jones. 15Clinton's law license in his native state of Arkansas was suspended for five years after he reached a deal at the end of his second term in office. 16Richard Nixon 17In 1974, former President Richard Nixon might have avoided criminal charges related to the Watergate scandal when then-President Gerald Ford pardoned him just weeks after Nixon resigned. 18Nixon resigned following the discovery of recordings showing that he had ordered a cover-up of the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington. 19By 1974, the Watergate scandal had expanded beyond the break-in. Many of Nixon's top aides stepped down and some were sentenced to prison. Nixon himself was a possible target of the Watergate special counsel, a special investigator appointed by the government. 20Ford said that an "indictment, a trial, a conviction, [of Nixon]" would have distracted the country from more immediate problems. 21John A. Farrell wrote Richard Nixon: The Life, a prize-winning book published in 2017. He said, "There were partisans in Congress and on the special counsel's staff who would have liked to see Nixon indicted after the resignation - or at least believed that the pardon was premature." 22Farrell noted that Nixon was so worried about his legal trouble that it affected his health. He added, "His very worried family reached out to the White House, alerting Ford's aides of the ex-president's deteriorating condition." 23Warren Harding 24Some historians wonder about President Warren Harding's fate had he not died in office, in 1923. "The walls were closing in on him," presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said of Harding. 25Several officials around him were charged with crimes related to corrupt land dealings known as the Teapot Dome Scandal. His Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall was the first Cabinet officer convicted and sent to prison for accepting illegal payments. 26Ulysses Grant 27Nixon and Harding faced major scandals without being charged. 28Ulysses Grant was a general and hero of the American Civil War. But members of his presidential administration were involved in many different kinds of financial wrongdoing. 29Grant himself was caught for minor offenses. In 1872, during his first term, he was stopped twice for riding his horse carriage too fast. 30"The second time Grant had to pay a $20 fine, but never spent a night in jail," says historian Ron Chernow. His book about Grant's life was published in 2017. 31I'm Dorothy Gundy. 32Hillel Italie reported this story for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English with additional materials from U.S. history. 33___________________________________________________________________ 34Words in This Story 35indictment -n. an official statement presented by a prosecuting official saying that a jury (such as a grand jury) is charging a person or persons for a crime 36grand jury -n. a jury that examines accusations against a person or persons and votes on whether to bring official charges 37impeach -v. to charge a public official with a crime before a body that is detailed in the law 38scandal -n. an happening or action that causes people to be shocked or upset because it is morally wrong or illegal 39conviction -n. the act of declaring someone guilty of a crime in a court of law under the rule of law 40partisan -n. a person who strongly supports a leader, group, cause or political party 41staff -n. (pl.) people who assist a director, or work for an organization 42deteriorate -v. to become worse with the passing of time 43__________________________________________________________________ 44What do you think about the legal problems of presidents? We want to hear from you. 45Here is how our comment system works: 46Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.